Honest opinions – the good, bad and ugly.
Honda’s Accord has long been the yin to the Toyota Camry’s yang. Sporty, modern-looking and high-tech – whereas the Camry has traditionally been flabbier-looking and stodgier-feeling. One was for younger up and comers; the other was the car of suburban middle class respectability. Together, they owned the mid-sized family sedan market, coming in as...
Throw it in the woods »
GMC is GM’s upscale SUV and truck division – up a notch from Chevy, not quite as high-end as Cadillac. Until just a couple of years ago, GMC only sold trucks – and truck-based SUVs. Of course, not everyone wants a truck – or even truck-based SUV. Realizing this, GM decided to broaden GMC’s...
Throw it in the woods »
There are a dozen or more compact-sized SUVs on the market, but only a few have real (truck-type) four-wheel-drive – 4WD with Low range gearing. Suzuki’s Grand Vitara is one of these – and it’s got more going for it than just its off-road bona fides. WHAT IT IS The Grand Vitara is compact...
Throw it in the woods »
Name any category of vehicle – compact cars, sport sedans, luxury SUVs, crossovers – and there are multiple choices; sometimes as many as a dozen in any single category But the Ford Transit Connect is literally in a class by itself – because no one else sells anything quite like it. WHAT IT IS...
Throw it in the woods »
Check it out: For $46k, you could buy a new Lexus GS350 with rear wheel drive and 303 hp V-6. $38k will buy you a new Caddy CTS with AWD and 270 hp. ($41k with the optional 304 hp engine.) $48k can get you into a base model Acura RL with 300 hp. $50k...
Throw it in the woods »
Hyper-small cars are making a comeback in the United States. How small? Check out the new Mazda2. It is 18 inches shorter, nose to tail, than the “compact” sized 2011 Ford Fiesta (with which it shares common architecture). And it only weighs 2,300 pounds, too (almost 300 pounds less than the Fiesta). That makes...
Throw it in the woods »
Ok, it’s nothing much to look at – and let’s be honest, nothing special to drive, either. But the Toyota Corolla has the one thing that matters most to literally millions of consumers: a reputation for being the best-built, most long-haul reliable economy sled on the road. And that’s no small thing. WHAT IT...
Throw it in the woods »
Apparently, station wagons are not cool. And “crossovers” are becoming too commonplace. So what do you call a new vehicle that’s based on an existing sedan and has most of the characteristics of a wagon that you don’t want to call a crossover? Toyota calls it Venza. WHAT IT IS Toyota says the five-passenger...
Throw it in the woods »
Sometimes silence isn’t golden. Why isn’t Buick doing more to advertise the 2010 LaCrosse? By rights, this car should be puttin’ a hurtin’ on the Lexus ES350 – known for years as the best Buick the Japanese ever built. And making competitors like Acura look usurious for charging close to $50k for cars like...
Throw it in the woods »
It’s easy to like the VW Golf. On the one hand, it’s an economy car – with an available turbo-diesel engine that can return more than 40 mpg on the highway (better than some hybrids). On the other hand, it’s powerful and quick – with a standard 170 hp gas-burning engine that still manages...
Throw it in the woods »
